TENNESSEE CONFERENCE REVIEW July 24, 2009
Articles in this issue of THE REVIEW:
1. State of the Church Address: "Wherever you are, can you do thirty more minutes"
2. Belmont seeks partners in work with Golden Triangle ministry
3. Eight years and counting--special ministry at Riverbend Maximum Security prison
4. Beersheba Reunion, September 5-6, 2009
5. 13 ounces at birth, Becca is Tennessee's tiniest baby to survive
6. Important Statistics for local church discussion
7. Tennessee Conference Deacon Authors New Book
8. The 2009 Conference Journal is dedicated to lay person Mary Cooper
9. Dr. Frank W. Essex receives the 2009 Asbury Award
10. Home Run to Heaven
11. M.A.Y.M. thanks TN Conference for Helping Hands Seed Grant
12. Is the Night Over?
_________________________
State of the Church Address: “Wherever you are, can you do thirty more minutes?”
Synopsis of Bishop Richard J. Wills’ address to the 2009 session of the Tennessee Annual Conference
This was a difficult year due to financial downturns in our area . . . and at the same time we have had to deal with storms, tornadoes, and other disasters.
• Church membership is a picture of our past—we have been growing
• Worship attendance is a photograph of the present—our worship attendance is up, sort of, but the long-term trend is more stagnant.
• Baptisms are a photograph of our future—and local churches need to talk about this. As a conference we have seen increases in Christian formation among children and youth. Major focus according to Bishop Wills: “God has called us to claim EVERY child for God’s Kingdom”.
Bishop Richard J. Wills, Jr., presents his “State of the Church” Address.
Times are tough. We could rest on our laurels—but that will ultimately lead to decline. Local churches and individuals need to step forward a little more. Bishop Wills recalled a layperson who took a group to Montana to experience the beauty of the mountains. The layperson included Wills, his wife, and children in the group he took to the west.
While in Montana he recalls his family accepting an invitation to climb to the top of a nearby mountain. After a short while Wills was completely exhausted and urged the group to go forward without him. The guide indicated that the summit was only 30 minutes away and that he would be able to handle it. 30 minutes later they were still not at the summit—again he was urged to continue toward the top although he was so tired he felt death was imminent. So . . . he moved forward slowly for another 30 minutes, and then another thirty minutes. The climb which started in the morning finally ended at mid-afternoon with the most spectacularly beautiful view Wills had ever encountered. Using the metaphor of his experience in climbing to the top of a mountain, and our need to press forward as a church in very hard times, Wills asked the conference, “Can YOU do 30 more minutes?”
A crucial part of the Bishop’s State of the Church address was a concluding interview he did with two ministers who were pastoring apparently dying congregations:
Louis Johnson began to serve Bell Springs (Murfreesboro District) in retirement. It has grown from 29 members to 106, and finances have grown--even in the face of economic downturn. The congregation even became involved in a new building program. “The Holy Spirit and love has led to the growth there,” indicated Johnson. Johnson’s basic advice: “Don’t give up on children. We started with 1, and now have as many as 35 kids for the children’s sermon. Children are the life of our church.”
Stephen Handy, serving Pickett-Rucker in Lebanon. There were 55 in worship and due to the proximity of other churches everyone felt it couldn’t grow. It now has a membership of 230 and attendance of 200 at worship. “People at Pickett Rucker attract because they love God and love people. They pray for folks that no one else wants . . . they adopted the homeless shelter.” Handy’s basic advice: “We need to spend more time outside the walls of the church than inside the walls of the church. Tell folks to expect the unexpected.” The number of children in the congregation has grown from 5 to 35 kids.
Bishop Wills concluded with a question for all Tennessee Conference United Methodists: “Wherever you are, can you do thirty more minutes?”
Belmont seeks partners in work with Golden Triangle ministry
1. State of the Church Address: "Wherever you are, can you do thirty more minutes"
2. Belmont seeks partners in work with Golden Triangle ministry
3. Eight years and counting--special ministry at Riverbend Maximum Security prison
4. Beersheba Reunion, September 5-6, 2009
5. 13 ounces at birth, Becca is Tennessee's tiniest baby to survive
6. Important Statistics for local church discussion
7. Tennessee Conference Deacon Authors New Book
8. The 2009 Conference Journal is dedicated to lay person Mary Cooper
9. Dr. Frank W. Essex receives the 2009 Asbury Award
10. Home Run to Heaven
11. M.A.Y.M. thanks TN Conference for Helping Hands Seed Grant
12. Is the Night Over?
_________________________
State of the Church Address: “Wherever you are, can you do thirty more minutes?”
Synopsis of Bishop Richard J. Wills’ address to the 2009 session of the Tennessee Annual Conference
This was a difficult year due to financial downturns in our area . . . and at the same time we have had to deal with storms, tornadoes, and other disasters.
• Church membership is a picture of our past—we have been growing
• Worship attendance is a photograph of the present—our worship attendance is up, sort of, but the long-term trend is more stagnant.
• Baptisms are a photograph of our future—and local churches need to talk about this. As a conference we have seen increases in Christian formation among children and youth. Major focus according to Bishop Wills: “God has called us to claim EVERY child for God’s Kingdom”.
Bishop Richard J. Wills, Jr., presents his “State of the Church” Address.Times are tough. We could rest on our laurels—but that will ultimately lead to decline. Local churches and individuals need to step forward a little more. Bishop Wills recalled a layperson who took a group to Montana to experience the beauty of the mountains. The layperson included Wills, his wife, and children in the group he took to the west.
While in Montana he recalls his family accepting an invitation to climb to the top of a nearby mountain. After a short while Wills was completely exhausted and urged the group to go forward without him. The guide indicated that the summit was only 30 minutes away and that he would be able to handle it. 30 minutes later they were still not at the summit—again he was urged to continue toward the top although he was so tired he felt death was imminent. So . . . he moved forward slowly for another 30 minutes, and then another thirty minutes. The climb which started in the morning finally ended at mid-afternoon with the most spectacularly beautiful view Wills had ever encountered. Using the metaphor of his experience in climbing to the top of a mountain, and our need to press forward as a church in very hard times, Wills asked the conference, “Can YOU do 30 more minutes?”
A crucial part of the Bishop’s State of the Church address was a concluding interview he did with two ministers who were pastoring apparently dying congregations:
Louis Johnson began to serve Bell Springs (Murfreesboro District) in retirement. It has grown from 29 members to 106, and finances have grown--even in the face of economic downturn. The congregation even became involved in a new building program. “The Holy Spirit and love has led to the growth there,” indicated Johnson. Johnson’s basic advice: “Don’t give up on children. We started with 1, and now have as many as 35 kids for the children’s sermon. Children are the life of our church.”
Stephen Handy, serving Pickett-Rucker in Lebanon. There were 55 in worship and due to the proximity of other churches everyone felt it couldn’t grow. It now has a membership of 230 and attendance of 200 at worship. “People at Pickett Rucker attract because they love God and love people. They pray for folks that no one else wants . . . they adopted the homeless shelter.” Handy’s basic advice: “We need to spend more time outside the walls of the church than inside the walls of the church. Tell folks to expect the unexpected.” The number of children in the congregation has grown from 5 to 35 kids.
Bishop Wills concluded with a question for all Tennessee Conference United Methodists: “Wherever you are, can you do thirty more minutes?”
Belmont seeks partners in work with Golden Triangle ministry
Refugees from Asia’s Golden Triangle open the Conference’s Monday evening session with a powerful hymn.
The 2009 Tennessee Annual Conference was blessed by a powerful hymn of trust in God from refugees who had fled persecution in Burma, lived in Thailand, and now reside in Nashville. At the conclusion of the hymn a hand woven stole was presented to Bishop Wills by the ladies of the Golden Triangle.
For those who appreciate great weaving, it is heartening to know that the ladies’ beautiful weaving is available for sale. Sandy Sakarapanee nithet@hotmail.com is their pastor but only has a small, time-limited grant and the amount of work is way beyond one person’s ability to accomplish. Belmont UMC invites your church to join us as we partner with these wonderful people as they seek to find a new life in Nashville. The needs are great, the opportunities for help and friendship, rich. For specific joys and possibilities contact Heather Harris at heather@belmontumc.org; phone 615-383-0832.
Eight years and counting
By Karen Vander Molen*
In 2001, Jerry Nail and Harry Boyko began spreading the Word at Riverbend Maximum Security Institute in Nashville, TN. Jerry, a graduate of Disciple Bible Studies, learned of a program in the North Carolina prison system that was positively affecting the lives of inmates. He received a call to take his Disciple Study experience into the nearby prison. At first, the expectation was that the two gentlemen from Franklin would do their thing and then fade away after six months. The reverse has been true. Instead of teaching just a few classes, their ministry at Riverbend has grown to proportions hardly imagined.
Harry Boyko and Jerry Nail at Riverbend Maximum Security Institute, Nashville, TN
Regular Sunday communion services from 8:00-8:30 am in the Chapel have been conducted since 2003. Ministers Paula Hoos (Trinity UMC, Franklin), Bill Miller and James Sewell (now retired, attending West End UMC, Nashville), Tom Gildemeister and Carol Cavin-Dillon (Christ UMC, Franklin) and Harold Martin (McConnell UMC, Nashville) and other pastors rotate through, sharing their homilies and God’s Love with the inmates. Initially 10-12 inmates typically attended Sunday worship, now 40 is the average and steadily increasing. Paula Hoos comments that Riverbend is a “thin place” where she feels she’s standing on holy ground. Outside visitors to the Chapel service are impressed with how genuinely welcomed they are made to feel by the men of Riverbend. It’s an experience one will never forget.
It’s hard to gauge the impact of the presence of the Prison Ministry at Riverbend, but the inmates’ comments, many of whom have been in other institutions, are revealing. Volunteers, lead by Eric and Trisha Kaberle, serve a fabulous Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy and Sister Schubert rolls that the men of Unit 6 rave about and eagerly anticipate in December. The men say that nothing like that is available at other institutions. The volunteers then sit with the men, exchanging the holiday spirit and serving as witnesses of God’s Love by their very presence. Gene Cotton then leads everyone in some Christmas carols - a truly heart-warming experience.
Jerry Nail, Bob Carlisle, (Denny Griswold),Tom Gildemeister and Sharon Regier serving Christmas dinner at RMSI.
A few days later, the annual tradition of distributing Holiday bags (2 per inmate) to all inmates (about 750) happens over three nights. In September, volunteers begin gathering items for the gift bags. Funds are solicited from churches, individuals and civic organizations for these special bags. Last year, children from First Baptist Church of Joelton, TN created Christmas cards to go into the bags which really touched the hearts of the men. The bags are filled with personal hygiene products, candy, cookies and more which bring a heartfelt “Thank You” from the men. Again, they tell us that this does not happen anywhere else and is very, very special to them.
Free world people participating in activities such as visiting Sunday services, serving Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinner, contributing to and distributing the Holiday gift bags, facilitating classes, being a Pen Pal and mentoring mean a lot to the men behind bars. They know we could be doing something else with our time, but we choose to be with and listen to them. We make them feel like human beings, instead of people thrown out with the trash - forgotten and abandoned by society. Participating in a prison ministry is certainly a place where one is challenged to walk His walk, not just talk His talk. The rewards of doing so are awesome.
In future articles we’ll look at a new volunteer project involving teaching art to men on Death Row, Pen Pal ministry, success stories of former inmates and more. For more information about Prison Ministry in Middle Tennessee, please contact Jerry Nail at jerrybnail@bellsouth.net.
You are invited to check out a nine minute video called “Crucial Time” at the following website
http://christum.net/templates/cuscumcfranklin/details.asp?id=30739&PID=589839cfranklin/details.asp?id=30739&PID=589839
When I first viewed the video, I saw men in blue sitting in pews, chairs, walking around. Now I see Joe, Larry, Lenny, Rick, Ronnie and other people who have made mistakes, but are finding God’s grace, just like you and I have. Who do you see?
*Karen Vander Molen is a member of Christ UMC and a Prison Ministry participant.
Beersheba Reunion, September 5-6, 2009
If you attended Beersheba (a/k/a church camp) from 1955 through 1970, please plan on attending a reunion September 5-6, 2009. You may have been a camper, a counselor, a cook, a nurse or simply be related to someone who talks about the memories we shared. We want you!
Persons attending the reunion are encouraged to bring photos. Any guesses about who is seen in this church camp photo taken in the good ole days of black and white photography?
This information is going out to all Methodists in the Tennessee Conference; however, there may be campers who attend another denomination, live outside the Tennessee Conference or may otherwise not see this information. So, please share this with everyone you remember from your times at Beersheba.
Plan to attend and bring photographs, crafts, song books and anything you have to share, especially stories. Who knows, we might even dredge up a copy of Charley Weaver's Letters From Mama! Above all, we promise NOT to plan a talent show.
Check-in/registration will be anytime before lunch on Saturday. [There will be a $5 per person registration fee.] Activities for Saturday will include vespers, a campfire or "folk dances" and who knows what else (we are still planning). On Sunday morning, we will, of course, have worship services.
For those of you who have not seen Beersheba's accommodations recently, every room has a private bath. Our rooms will be in the new lodge that rivals any good hotel - without the bellhop. Rates are very nominal: $65 a night single and $32.50 double (i.e., $65 for a couple). Meals will be $8 Saturday lunch, $9.50 Saturday dinner, $7.50 Sunday breakfast & $9.50 Sunday dinner.
Please make your reservations as soon as possible - but no later than August 16 - by calling the Beersheba Assembly at (931) 692-3669 or by e-mail at beershebaassembly@hotmail.com. The folks at Beersheba - and we - need this to make plans for meals, activities, etc.
13 ounces at birth, Becca is Tennessee's tiniest baby to survive
By Claudia Pinto
This article, copyrighted 2009, appeared on page one of The Tennessean, July 13, 2009, and is reprinted here with the permission.
At a year old, Becca is the size of a typical 3-month-old. Still, the baby girl is sitting up on her own, and she’s 16 times her birth weight.
At birth, Becca Hill weighed just 13 ounces. That's as much as a medium-sized apple, three and a half chocolate bars or a can of Coke.
No one was expecting Becca — who was born 12 weeks early at Vanderbilt children's hospital — to live. She was simply too little; she was born too soon.
But the feisty baby proved them all wrong. Becca recently celebrated her first birthday, making the now-13-pound little girl the tiniest baby born in Tennessee to survive.
"A year ago, I was lying on the operating table, hoping against hope that she would breathe a little bit and that we could hold her and that she wouldn't be stillborn," said Nancy Hill, Becca's mother. "And now here she is causing all kinds of trouble."
Preterm birth — babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy — is the leading cause of infant death in Tennessee, followed by congenital birth defects and sudden infant death syndrome.
The mortality rate for premature babies is 44 deaths per every 1,000 live births, compared with 3.2 per 1,000 for full-term babies, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Nearly 12,000 babies are born too early each year in the state.
Hill, of Bethpage, was 17 weeks pregnant when she found out that her baby wasn't growing properly.
"She was two weeks behind, size-wise. The doctor said, 'We need to be prepared to lose this baby,' " she said. "It was terrible and horrible. We are both realistic and trust the expertise of the doctors, but we couldn't give up on her."
The culprit is known as "placental insufficiency," meaning that the placenta wasn't supplying Becca with the proper nutrients, oxygen and blood that she needed to grow.
Dr. Joern-Hendrik Weitkamp, a Vanderbilt neonatologist and assistant professor of pediatrics, said it's not entirely understood why the placenta was malfunctioning, but Hill was experiencing high blood pressure, which may have been a factor.
Hill and her husband, John, are both ministers at Bethpage United Methodist Church. Their faith helped them hold on to hope that their baby would make it.
"It helped just knowing never to give up; something amazing and miraculous could always happen," John Hill said. "We had people all over the country praying for her. I have to believe that made a difference."
'A very cute alien'
Vanderbilt doctors were forced to perform an emergency delivery on June 21 of last year because Nancy Hill developed HELLP syndrome, a complication that occurs among pregnant women with high blood pressure that can result in seizures and even death for the mother.
Nancy Hill pleaded with doctors to let her stay awake during the C-section.
"We were anticipating that she wouldn't live very long," she said. "I said even if it's just two or three minutes, I want those two or three minutes with my baby. I don't want to wake up and find out she's already died."
One of the biggest concerns Weitkamp had about keeping Becca alive after delivery was that the life-saving equipment would be too large to use on her.
"Her lungs weren't mature enough for her to breathe on her own, but we weren't sure that there was a breathing tube that would be small enough for her," Weitkamp said.
Fortunately, there was. In addition to a ventilator to help her breathe, Becca was dependent on an incubator to keep warm, feeding tubes to ensure she received sufficient nutrients. She also needed antibiotics and anti-fungal medication to prevent infection.
John Hill will never forget seeing his daughter after she was born: "They told me I could touch her," he said. "I was so afraid I was going to hurt her, just by touching her with my finger."
Becca was so small that she didn't even look like a baby, her father said. Her head was abnormally large compared to her stick-like limbs.
And her liver was visible through her thin skin.
"(She looked) kind of like an alien," John Hill said.
"A very cute alien," Nancy Hill interjected.
Few health issues today
Despite the baby's teeny size, Nancy Hill said that when she saw her baby in the NICU the day after she was born, she knew she would make it.
"They said she wouldn't have the muscle tone to move around," she said. "She was feisty. She was moving all around."
And Nancy Hill said that even though Becca's lungs weren't developed enough for her to cry, she was trying.
"It sounded like a little kitten to me," she said. "Now when she cries in the middle of church it doesn't bother me."
It was a month before Becca's parents were able to hold her and four months before they were able to take her home from the hospital. The total cost of her care was roughly $1 million.
"If we hadn't had health insurance and she didn't qualify for TennCare (the state's insurance program for the poor and disabled) we would never be able to pay these bills off," Nancy Hill said.
Weitkamp said what's most miraculous to him is not that Becca survived, but the fact that she has so few health issues.
Of course, Becca will probably always be smaller than her peers. At a year old, she's the size of typical 3-month-old. And because she was born prematurely she's at risk for developmental delays and other health problems, such as diabetes, later in life.
Still, Becca is now sitting up on her own. She's 16 times her birth weight. And her parents say she's a bundle of happiness.
The toddler has learned to kiss, but "she doesn't actually kiss you," her father said. "She just kisses the air."
And, "when you go to tickle her, she starts laughing before your fingers even touch her," her mother said. "She's just a joy."
Important Statistics for local church discussion
The following are highlights of the 2009 Annual Conference report by Jim Allen, Conference Treasurer and Statistician.
• As a percentage of the total population there are twice as many United Methodists in our 42 Tennessee Conference counties as in the remainder of the United States [5% verses 2.5%]
• The total Tennessee Conference membership as of 12/31/08 was 118,492 – we have had increases in membership during 15 of the last 20 years.
• Over the past 8 years the Tennessee Conference has grown about ½% per year; the State of Tennessee has grown 2 ½% per year.
• In the year 2000 there were 13,091 children and 7223 youth within the Tennessee Annual Conference. By 2008 the numbers had increased to 18,767 children and 10,493 youth
• The total Tennessee Annual Conference budget for 2010 is $13,890,282 which is down 3.14% from the 2009 budget
• Among active clergy in 2008:
o 49% were Elders
o 45% were Local Preachers
o 4% were Deacons
o And 3% were Associate Members of the Annual Conference
• Pension reserves for retired clergy:
o As of December, 2007, were 139% of the amount needed
o As of February, 2009, were 81% of the amount needed
• Average worship attendance for 2007 was 48,533 and it was up 1,347 (2.8%) in 2008 for a total of 49,880.
• Total Apportionment payments for all churches in the Tennessee Conference was $12,522,542.30 in 2007 (Apportionment percentage of 89.16%); in 2008 the total was $12,403,151,23 (Apportionment percentage of 85.66%, down 3.5% of $119.393.10).
• Benevolences paid directly by the local church and NOT through the Conference Treasurer: In 2007 the total was $4,160,626; In 2008 the total was $4,625,272.
Tennessee Conference Deacon Authors New Book
Rev. Dr. Rita Hays, a deacon and associate pastor for children, family, and visitation at Connell Memorial is the author of her second book. The book, entitled The Most Important Space in the Church: The Nursery is published by Discipleship Resources and is available at Cokesbury bookstores.
The Rev. Dr. Rita Hays
Rev Hays challenges congregations and church leaders to recognize the vital role the nursery plays in forming the faith of infants, in practicing hospitality, in nurturing children, and in sharing the Wesleyan concept of grace rooted in our understanding of infant baptism.
Hays comments, “Many books have been written on the ways to help your nursery become a safe and excellent environment. These books have included lists of nursery supplies, ideas for furnishing the nursery, policies and guidelines, and requirements for childcare workers and volunteers. I strive to move the reader beyond these issues to affirm the ways the nursery can model for the entire congregation some of the church’s most essential tasks. The books seeks to show the ways the nursery can teach the entire congregation how to practice hospitality, nurture faith, and demonstrate grace.”
The book is geared toward paid nursery staff, nursery volunteers, leaders in children’s ministry, and other church leaders who desire to revitalize their church nurseries and to learn the important lessons the nursery offers the entire church.
The 2009 Conference Journal is dedicated to lay person Mary Cooper
Mrs. Cooper was nominated for the honor by the Rev. Norman F. Weber
St. Ignatius of Loyola stated, “Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as your deserve, to give, and not to count the cost, to fight, and not to heed the wounds, to toil, and not to seek for rest, to labor, and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will.” This statement is most apt for Mary Cooper, member of Glendale United Methodist Church, a person one must admire, consider as an example of a willing and faithful servant, loyal, trustworthy, and kind, never failing, and in a very good sense tenacious, hard-working to a fault. Mary is a person you will want to know and be a friend with. She will not leave a stone unturned to assist making the life of the other better.
Mary Cooper (front row, third from right) gathers with family and friends after it was announced that the 2009 Journal would be dedicated to her.
It is my pleasure to recommend Mary Cooper to be the layperson to which the 2009 Tennessee Conference Journal is to be dedicated. Mary has been and is a most vibrant advocate for Miriam’s Promise; she is a diligent worker as a member of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, presently serving on the Residency, the finance and scholarship committees.
When I had the privilege of pastoring Glendale United Methodist Church for three years, I came to appreciate her complete faithfulness, trustworthiness, and dependency in whatever she undertook and in all that I asked her to do. We were co-workers for Christ. Whatever you ask of her you know that task will be done.
Mary Cooper is a fiercely loyal friend to anyone and is loved tenaciously by her family; she is Meme to her doting grandchildren and she is grandmother to all the children placed in loving homes by Miriam’s Promise.
It is little known that for years she was the secretary/treasurer of the Tennessee Feed and Seed Dealer Association. She is known by the Nashville legal profession having worked for a long time as a legal secretary for a prominent Nashville law firm.
Mary Cooper firmly believes that justice, mercy, kindness, fairness, and in particular, love, is tantamount to the fulfillment of all that Jesus Christ had and is teaching his followers. Mary is such a follower, an example for all of us to emulate.
The list of her servanthood accomplishments is long yet all filled with her love for others, wishing nothing but the best for every person she comes in contact with. As someone said which is applicable to Mary Cooper, “Once an individual renews her mind and changes her thinking about servanthood, she will realize that serving others represents a position of strength not weakness and will reap the fruit of her labors.”
Recently she said, “I sometimes feel that I must get out of some things I do, but then I remember how much I love doing what I do and want to keep on as long as I can … I love Glendale so much that I want to do everything I can to be sure that our ministry here continues … thank goodness I can still do the things I love to do and that are important to me.”
Mother Theresa of Calcutta stated, “spread love everywhere you go: First in your own home … let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness, kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness.”
Mary Cooper, a kind person, disciple of Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Frank W. Essex receives the 2009 Asbury Award
The 2009 Asbury Award, Honoring an individual for Fostering United Methodist Ministries in Higher Education, was given to Dr. Frank W. Essex.
Dr. Frank Essex receives an ovation from Annual Conference delegates
Frank W. Essex was born and raised in Arkansas County, Arkansas. He attended public school there, graduating from Stuttgart High School in 1946. He attended and graduated from Vanderbilt University and is also a graduate of the Indiana College of Mortuary Science. Frank was in the U.S. Air Force during the time of the Korean War, worked with his father in the funeral business in Stuttgart following the service, and owned and operated the funeral home for a decade following his father’s death in 1955.
He returned to Vanderbilt University in 1965 and received a PhD in Political Science to gear up for a second career as a Political Science Professor and taught 27 years at Middle Tennessee State University, retiring as Professor Emeritus of Political Science, in 1993. Frank has been a mentor to many serving in political office, attorneys and judges in Tennessee and beyond.
A lifelong Methodist, Frank has been a member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, TN for 42 years. He taught the Ty Cargile Men’s Class at St. Mark’s for a number of years. Frank has served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Wesley Foundation at MTSU, including chairing the board for several years. He still supports the Wesley Foundation at MTSU and is very active in the Wesley Foundation fund raising events and public events. He served a term on the Tennessee Conference Commission on Archives and History. Frank has also served on the Tennessee Conference Board of Higher Education. He has long been one of the Lay Members from St. Mark’s United Methodist Church to the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Frank’s wife, Betty, died in 2005. They have two sons and two daughters, five grandchildren and a six month old great-granddaughter, Lydia. Frank is the third child in a family of three sisters and two brother, all six of who are still living. He was baptized as an infant and later confirmed into full membership at the De Witt, Arkansas First United Methodist Church.
Home Run to Heaven
By Lucy Neeley Adams
The rules and procedures of many sports are Greek to me! But when I was young I got hooked on baseball. I had no brothers to go to ball games with my dad so I was the one who was invited to the ballpark with him and I felt very special.
In my old red scrap book with the pages tattered and torn, is a newspaper picture that I cherish. My childish handwriting records names of my favorite players, with an arrow pointing to each one. The Columbia Reds, a farm team for the Cincinnati Reds were a unique part of my earliest years in Columbia, S.C.
There is no doubt that the same was true for many people in the Chicago area at the turn of the last century. A baseball player named, Billy Sunday, became a very important part of their lives. The game that is as American as apple pie brought much pleasure and excitement to thousands of fans.
Billy Sunday, 1921
Sunday, who had been brought up in poverty and eventually sent to an orphanage, walked away before he finished high school. He sought fulfillment in various jobs. But his love for baseball always pulled him to every neighborhood game he could find Baseball big league Scouts always looked in on those games and Billy Sunday's skills were worthy of a call to move up into a league.
He was asked to try out and sign a contract in 1862, at eighteen years of age, with the Chicago White Stockings. Within several years other teams like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia signed him on. It was said that he was only an average hitter but a ‘fast as lighting' runner and a dynamic outfielder.
However, the greatest change in Billy Sunday's life came one Sunday afternoon in Chicago. While downtown with some friends, he heard a message that was strange but intriguing. His ears and intellect took in the testimony of a street preacher who spoke of his salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. The young man, from the Pacific Garden Mission, told about his former life of depression, fear and anguish that was now filled with Gods' healing love.
The joy in the strangers face beckoned to Billy Sunday and he began to go to the Mission each night that his team did not play baseball. Eventually he was encouraged to join the evangelistic work of the YMCA. (Young Men’s Christian Association.). After eight years of baseball fame and fun, Billy Sunday was off on the greatest adventure of his life.
Once he had only home runs and great catches on his mind. But after he surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus Christ, his heart and thoughts were on heaven and the souls caught for Christ.
He preached with great enthusiasm. Strike outs, good catches, fouls and home runs were freely described as he preached against the sins of the day. From baseball and ball parks to preaching and pulpits, the life of Billy Sunday is an exciting study.
Within one of his sermons that is printed in a SELECTION OF AMERICAN SERMONS by Michael Warner we read: "You will notice that Jesus did not feed the multitude. He created the food and asked his disciples to distribute it. Jesus was the chef, not the waiter at this banquet. Jesus created salvation, the only food that will feed the spiritual hunger of this world. The task of distributing the food is in the hands of his human followers."
Bishop William Willimon writes: " Billy Sunday was the best-known preacher in America from 1908-1925....His evangelistic crusades were national news, and he was a friend of the great and powerful both in business and politics....But his great strength lay in the uniqueness of his preaching built on his experiences as a professional baseball player.”(Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching: Willimon and Lescher)
The words that best describe the awesome life of this great ballplayer turned preacher come straight from the words of Jesus. "Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it. (Matthew 10:38-39)
Billy Sunday's ministry schedule was always full to overflowing. But his wife, lovingly called "Ma Sunday", expertly organized those crusades. When Billy died in 1935 she continued to live in their home at Winona Lake, Indiana, until she died in 1957. That home is now a museum that houses the family memorabilia. (http://www.villageatwinona.com/)
M.A.Y.M. thanks TN Conference for Helping Hands Seed Grant
By Roger Brown*
Youth ministry is alive and well in McMinnville. Youth Leaders from all over the community and all different denominations are joining forces to impact the Kingdom of Christ in a big way. For more than six years now, McMinnville Area Youth Ministries (M.A.Y.M.) has been serving the community as the hands and feet of Christ. The members of M.A.Y.M are involved in the local school system by organizing Campus Life meetings in six different schools. During the 2008 – 2009 school year, M.A.Y.M had the opportunity to present a life skills assembly called Primetime in Warren County Middle School. During these assemblies student’s learned lessons like discipline and perseverance. M.A.Y.M is also responsible for bringing community outreach events to McMinnville such as Real Encounter and Mike Hagen’s Strength Team. Hundreds of people made first time commitments or decisions to rededicate their lives to Christ during these creative events.
A recent addition to the activities of M.A.Y.M includes a college ministry fair held at Warren County High School. There were about six different campus ministries represented from area colleges, including The Wesley Foundation from Tennessee Tech in Cookeville. Worship was led by a MTSU student group from Belle Aire during this event. We hope to make the college ministry fair an annual event.
The local churches and ministries that are members of M.A.Y.M include McMinnville First Baptist, Northside Baptist, Pioneer Community Church, Cornerstone Baptist, Gath Baptist, Morrison First Baptist, Christ’s Family Church, McMinnville First United Methodist, and MMerge Ministries. M.A.Y.M strives to represent both a blended and unified body of believers while holding to the common foundational teachings of God’s Word such as salvation by grace in Christ alone through faith. We prayerfully believe in God for continued growth through partnership with other churches and ministries who share our precious faith.
For the last six years M.A.Y.M has organized an annual event called Mc.P.O.W. (McMinnville People Out Witnessing), we just love abbreviations! The theme for this year’s Mc.P.O.W. event was Broadcast 2009.. This event was a week-long community discipleship and outreach project during June 8th through June 12th. Youth from all over the community broadcasted the message of the gospel. The youth were impacted by sincere worship, inspirational messages, and time for fellowship. During Mc.P.O.W. the youth did yard work in the community, recruited blood donors and helped with registration at a blood drive, shared the gospel with children in back yard Bible school, washed cars for free, went door to door offering prayer for people, and collected 500 pounds of food for a food drive. M.A.Y.M would like to sincerely thank the Tennessee Conference Connectional Ministries who supported Mc.P.O.W. with a Helping Hands Seed Grant. Their generosity helped to meet a great financial need. May God’s blessings continue as we remain faithful to His purposes.
*Roger Brown is Youth Director/M.A.Y.M. Member, McMinnville First United Methodist Church
Wayfaring STRANGER
Is the Night Over?
By Marty Bell
From Hills & Hamlets, a newspaper celebrating the art and culture of rural life. This article appeared in the July 2009 issue, page 20, copyright 2009.. Reprinted here with permission. Published monthly by Hills & Hamlets, 4208 Old Hillsboro Road, Suite Eight, Franklin, TN 37064.
An ancient Rabbi once asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and the day was on its way back.
“Could it be,” asked one student, “when you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it’s a sheep or a dog?”
“No,” answered the Rabbi.
“Could it be,” asked another, “when you look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it’s a fig tree or a peach tree?”
“No,” said the Rabbi.
“Well, then what is it?” his pupils demanded.
“It is when you look on the face of any many and can see . . . your brother. Because if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, it is still night.”
Because Independence Day falls on July , this month gives many of us an opportunity to pause and to consider what it means to be an American. No two of us has the exact same perspective on this subject. For me the Rabbi’s story gets pretty close to starting my truth. If I can’t see a brother or a sister in another human being, I’m living in the darkness of night. One of the great paradoxes of our experience as Americans is our sense of unity in the midst of diversity. We often have difficulty maintaining the tension between what makes us the same and what makes us different. Nevertheless, I believe that in that tension we find the meaning of our nation’s identity.
At the root of all the evil that’s been done in our world is the inability to see a brother or sister in another human being. Just as siblings can be very different from one another, but share in a common family heritage and experience, we as Americans can be very different from one another, but share in a common bond. Is the night over yet?
Marty Bell, Ph.D., is a professor, preacher, and singer/songwriter. He teaches at Belmont University and ministers to three Methodist churches in rural Williamson Country: Green’s Chapel, Garrison and Greenbrier. He can be reached at bellmg@comcast.net
The 2009 Tennessee Annual Conference was blessed by a powerful hymn of trust in God from refugees who had fled persecution in Burma, lived in Thailand, and now reside in Nashville. At the conclusion of the hymn a hand woven stole was presented to Bishop Wills by the ladies of the Golden Triangle.
For those who appreciate great weaving, it is heartening to know that the ladies’ beautiful weaving is available for sale. Sandy Sakarapanee nithet@hotmail.com is their pastor but only has a small, time-limited grant and the amount of work is way beyond one person’s ability to accomplish. Belmont UMC invites your church to join us as we partner with these wonderful people as they seek to find a new life in Nashville. The needs are great, the opportunities for help and friendship, rich. For specific joys and possibilities contact Heather Harris at heather@belmontumc.org; phone 615-383-0832.
Eight years and counting
By Karen Vander Molen*
In 2001, Jerry Nail and Harry Boyko began spreading the Word at Riverbend Maximum Security Institute in Nashville, TN. Jerry, a graduate of Disciple Bible Studies, learned of a program in the North Carolina prison system that was positively affecting the lives of inmates. He received a call to take his Disciple Study experience into the nearby prison. At first, the expectation was that the two gentlemen from Franklin would do their thing and then fade away after six months. The reverse has been true. Instead of teaching just a few classes, their ministry at Riverbend has grown to proportions hardly imagined.
Harry Boyko and Jerry Nail at Riverbend Maximum Security Institute, Nashville, TNRegular Sunday communion services from 8:00-8:30 am in the Chapel have been conducted since 2003. Ministers Paula Hoos (Trinity UMC, Franklin), Bill Miller and James Sewell (now retired, attending West End UMC, Nashville), Tom Gildemeister and Carol Cavin-Dillon (Christ UMC, Franklin) and Harold Martin (McConnell UMC, Nashville) and other pastors rotate through, sharing their homilies and God’s Love with the inmates. Initially 10-12 inmates typically attended Sunday worship, now 40 is the average and steadily increasing. Paula Hoos comments that Riverbend is a “thin place” where she feels she’s standing on holy ground. Outside visitors to the Chapel service are impressed with how genuinely welcomed they are made to feel by the men of Riverbend. It’s an experience one will never forget.
It’s hard to gauge the impact of the presence of the Prison Ministry at Riverbend, but the inmates’ comments, many of whom have been in other institutions, are revealing. Volunteers, lead by Eric and Trisha Kaberle, serve a fabulous Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy and Sister Schubert rolls that the men of Unit 6 rave about and eagerly anticipate in December. The men say that nothing like that is available at other institutions. The volunteers then sit with the men, exchanging the holiday spirit and serving as witnesses of God’s Love by their very presence. Gene Cotton then leads everyone in some Christmas carols - a truly heart-warming experience.
Jerry Nail, Bob Carlisle, (Denny Griswold),Tom Gildemeister and Sharon Regier serving Christmas dinner at RMSI.A few days later, the annual tradition of distributing Holiday bags (2 per inmate) to all inmates (about 750) happens over three nights. In September, volunteers begin gathering items for the gift bags. Funds are solicited from churches, individuals and civic organizations for these special bags. Last year, children from First Baptist Church of Joelton, TN created Christmas cards to go into the bags which really touched the hearts of the men. The bags are filled with personal hygiene products, candy, cookies and more which bring a heartfelt “Thank You” from the men. Again, they tell us that this does not happen anywhere else and is very, very special to them.
Free world people participating in activities such as visiting Sunday services, serving Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinner, contributing to and distributing the Holiday gift bags, facilitating classes, being a Pen Pal and mentoring mean a lot to the men behind bars. They know we could be doing something else with our time, but we choose to be with and listen to them. We make them feel like human beings, instead of people thrown out with the trash - forgotten and abandoned by society. Participating in a prison ministry is certainly a place where one is challenged to walk His walk, not just talk His talk. The rewards of doing so are awesome.
In future articles we’ll look at a new volunteer project involving teaching art to men on Death Row, Pen Pal ministry, success stories of former inmates and more. For more information about Prison Ministry in Middle Tennessee, please contact Jerry Nail at jerrybnail@bellsouth.net.
You are invited to check out a nine minute video called “Crucial Time” at the following website
http://christum.net/templates/cuscumcfranklin/details.asp?id=30739&PID=589839cfranklin/details.asp?id=30739&PID=589839
When I first viewed the video, I saw men in blue sitting in pews, chairs, walking around. Now I see Joe, Larry, Lenny, Rick, Ronnie and other people who have made mistakes, but are finding God’s grace, just like you and I have. Who do you see?
*Karen Vander Molen is a member of Christ UMC and a Prison Ministry participant.
Beersheba Reunion, September 5-6, 2009
If you attended Beersheba (a/k/a church camp) from 1955 through 1970, please plan on attending a reunion September 5-6, 2009. You may have been a camper, a counselor, a cook, a nurse or simply be related to someone who talks about the memories we shared. We want you!
Persons attending the reunion are encouraged to bring photos. Any guesses about who is seen in this church camp photo taken in the good ole days of black and white photography?This information is going out to all Methodists in the Tennessee Conference; however, there may be campers who attend another denomination, live outside the Tennessee Conference or may otherwise not see this information. So, please share this with everyone you remember from your times at Beersheba.
Plan to attend and bring photographs, crafts, song books and anything you have to share, especially stories. Who knows, we might even dredge up a copy of Charley Weaver's Letters From Mama! Above all, we promise NOT to plan a talent show.
Check-in/registration will be anytime before lunch on Saturday. [There will be a $5 per person registration fee.] Activities for Saturday will include vespers, a campfire or "folk dances" and who knows what else (we are still planning). On Sunday morning, we will, of course, have worship services.
For those of you who have not seen Beersheba's accommodations recently, every room has a private bath. Our rooms will be in the new lodge that rivals any good hotel - without the bellhop. Rates are very nominal: $65 a night single and $32.50 double (i.e., $65 for a couple). Meals will be $8 Saturday lunch, $9.50 Saturday dinner, $7.50 Sunday breakfast & $9.50 Sunday dinner.
Please make your reservations as soon as possible - but no later than August 16 - by calling the Beersheba Assembly at (931) 692-3669 or by e-mail at beershebaassembly@hotmail.com. The folks at Beersheba - and we - need this to make plans for meals, activities, etc.
13 ounces at birth, Becca is Tennessee's tiniest baby to survive
By Claudia Pinto
This article, copyrighted 2009, appeared on page one of The Tennessean, July 13, 2009, and is reprinted here with the permission.
At a year old, Becca is the size of a typical 3-month-old. Still, the baby girl is sitting up on her own, and she’s 16 times her birth weight.At birth, Becca Hill weighed just 13 ounces. That's as much as a medium-sized apple, three and a half chocolate bars or a can of Coke.
No one was expecting Becca — who was born 12 weeks early at Vanderbilt children's hospital — to live. She was simply too little; she was born too soon.
But the feisty baby proved them all wrong. Becca recently celebrated her first birthday, making the now-13-pound little girl the tiniest baby born in Tennessee to survive.
"A year ago, I was lying on the operating table, hoping against hope that she would breathe a little bit and that we could hold her and that she wouldn't be stillborn," said Nancy Hill, Becca's mother. "And now here she is causing all kinds of trouble."
Preterm birth — babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy — is the leading cause of infant death in Tennessee, followed by congenital birth defects and sudden infant death syndrome.
The mortality rate for premature babies is 44 deaths per every 1,000 live births, compared with 3.2 per 1,000 for full-term babies, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Nearly 12,000 babies are born too early each year in the state.
Hill, of Bethpage, was 17 weeks pregnant when she found out that her baby wasn't growing properly.
"She was two weeks behind, size-wise. The doctor said, 'We need to be prepared to lose this baby,' " she said. "It was terrible and horrible. We are both realistic and trust the expertise of the doctors, but we couldn't give up on her."
The culprit is known as "placental insufficiency," meaning that the placenta wasn't supplying Becca with the proper nutrients, oxygen and blood that she needed to grow.
Dr. Joern-Hendrik Weitkamp, a Vanderbilt neonatologist and assistant professor of pediatrics, said it's not entirely understood why the placenta was malfunctioning, but Hill was experiencing high blood pressure, which may have been a factor.
Hill and her husband, John, are both ministers at Bethpage United Methodist Church. Their faith helped them hold on to hope that their baby would make it.
"It helped just knowing never to give up; something amazing and miraculous could always happen," John Hill said. "We had people all over the country praying for her. I have to believe that made a difference."
'A very cute alien'
Vanderbilt doctors were forced to perform an emergency delivery on June 21 of last year because Nancy Hill developed HELLP syndrome, a complication that occurs among pregnant women with high blood pressure that can result in seizures and even death for the mother.
Nancy Hill pleaded with doctors to let her stay awake during the C-section.
"We were anticipating that she wouldn't live very long," she said. "I said even if it's just two or three minutes, I want those two or three minutes with my baby. I don't want to wake up and find out she's already died."
One of the biggest concerns Weitkamp had about keeping Becca alive after delivery was that the life-saving equipment would be too large to use on her.
"Her lungs weren't mature enough for her to breathe on her own, but we weren't sure that there was a breathing tube that would be small enough for her," Weitkamp said.
Fortunately, there was. In addition to a ventilator to help her breathe, Becca was dependent on an incubator to keep warm, feeding tubes to ensure she received sufficient nutrients. She also needed antibiotics and anti-fungal medication to prevent infection.
John Hill will never forget seeing his daughter after she was born: "They told me I could touch her," he said. "I was so afraid I was going to hurt her, just by touching her with my finger."
Becca was so small that she didn't even look like a baby, her father said. Her head was abnormally large compared to her stick-like limbs.
And her liver was visible through her thin skin.
"(She looked) kind of like an alien," John Hill said.
"A very cute alien," Nancy Hill interjected.
Few health issues today
Despite the baby's teeny size, Nancy Hill said that when she saw her baby in the NICU the day after she was born, she knew she would make it.
"They said she wouldn't have the muscle tone to move around," she said. "She was feisty. She was moving all around."
And Nancy Hill said that even though Becca's lungs weren't developed enough for her to cry, she was trying.
"It sounded like a little kitten to me," she said. "Now when she cries in the middle of church it doesn't bother me."
It was a month before Becca's parents were able to hold her and four months before they were able to take her home from the hospital. The total cost of her care was roughly $1 million.
"If we hadn't had health insurance and she didn't qualify for TennCare (the state's insurance program for the poor and disabled) we would never be able to pay these bills off," Nancy Hill said.
Weitkamp said what's most miraculous to him is not that Becca survived, but the fact that she has so few health issues.
Of course, Becca will probably always be smaller than her peers. At a year old, she's the size of typical 3-month-old. And because she was born prematurely she's at risk for developmental delays and other health problems, such as diabetes, later in life.
Still, Becca is now sitting up on her own. She's 16 times her birth weight. And her parents say she's a bundle of happiness.
The toddler has learned to kiss, but "she doesn't actually kiss you," her father said. "She just kisses the air."
And, "when you go to tickle her, she starts laughing before your fingers even touch her," her mother said. "She's just a joy."
Important Statistics for local church discussion
The following are highlights of the 2009 Annual Conference report by Jim Allen, Conference Treasurer and Statistician.
• As a percentage of the total population there are twice as many United Methodists in our 42 Tennessee Conference counties as in the remainder of the United States [5% verses 2.5%]
• The total Tennessee Conference membership as of 12/31/08 was 118,492 – we have had increases in membership during 15 of the last 20 years.
• Over the past 8 years the Tennessee Conference has grown about ½% per year; the State of Tennessee has grown 2 ½% per year.
• In the year 2000 there were 13,091 children and 7223 youth within the Tennessee Annual Conference. By 2008 the numbers had increased to 18,767 children and 10,493 youth
• The total Tennessee Annual Conference budget for 2010 is $13,890,282 which is down 3.14% from the 2009 budget
• Among active clergy in 2008:
o 49% were Elders
o 45% were Local Preachers
o 4% were Deacons
o And 3% were Associate Members of the Annual Conference
• Pension reserves for retired clergy:
o As of December, 2007, were 139% of the amount needed
o As of February, 2009, were 81% of the amount needed
• Average worship attendance for 2007 was 48,533 and it was up 1,347 (2.8%) in 2008 for a total of 49,880.
• Total Apportionment payments for all churches in the Tennessee Conference was $12,522,542.30 in 2007 (Apportionment percentage of 89.16%); in 2008 the total was $12,403,151,23 (Apportionment percentage of 85.66%, down 3.5% of $119.393.10).
• Benevolences paid directly by the local church and NOT through the Conference Treasurer: In 2007 the total was $4,160,626; In 2008 the total was $4,625,272.
Tennessee Conference Deacon Authors New Book
Rev. Dr. Rita Hays, a deacon and associate pastor for children, family, and visitation at Connell Memorial is the author of her second book. The book, entitled The Most Important Space in the Church: The Nursery is published by Discipleship Resources and is available at Cokesbury bookstores.
The Rev. Dr. Rita HaysRev Hays challenges congregations and church leaders to recognize the vital role the nursery plays in forming the faith of infants, in practicing hospitality, in nurturing children, and in sharing the Wesleyan concept of grace rooted in our understanding of infant baptism.
Hays comments, “Many books have been written on the ways to help your nursery become a safe and excellent environment. These books have included lists of nursery supplies, ideas for furnishing the nursery, policies and guidelines, and requirements for childcare workers and volunteers. I strive to move the reader beyond these issues to affirm the ways the nursery can model for the entire congregation some of the church’s most essential tasks. The books seeks to show the ways the nursery can teach the entire congregation how to practice hospitality, nurture faith, and demonstrate grace.”
The book is geared toward paid nursery staff, nursery volunteers, leaders in children’s ministry, and other church leaders who desire to revitalize their church nurseries and to learn the important lessons the nursery offers the entire church.
The 2009 Conference Journal is dedicated to lay person Mary Cooper
Mrs. Cooper was nominated for the honor by the Rev. Norman F. Weber
St. Ignatius of Loyola stated, “Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as your deserve, to give, and not to count the cost, to fight, and not to heed the wounds, to toil, and not to seek for rest, to labor, and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will.” This statement is most apt for Mary Cooper, member of Glendale United Methodist Church, a person one must admire, consider as an example of a willing and faithful servant, loyal, trustworthy, and kind, never failing, and in a very good sense tenacious, hard-working to a fault. Mary is a person you will want to know and be a friend with. She will not leave a stone unturned to assist making the life of the other better.
Mary Cooper (front row, third from right) gathers with family and friends after it was announced that the 2009 Journal would be dedicated to her.It is my pleasure to recommend Mary Cooper to be the layperson to which the 2009 Tennessee Conference Journal is to be dedicated. Mary has been and is a most vibrant advocate for Miriam’s Promise; she is a diligent worker as a member of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, presently serving on the Residency, the finance and scholarship committees.
When I had the privilege of pastoring Glendale United Methodist Church for three years, I came to appreciate her complete faithfulness, trustworthiness, and dependency in whatever she undertook and in all that I asked her to do. We were co-workers for Christ. Whatever you ask of her you know that task will be done.
Mary Cooper is a fiercely loyal friend to anyone and is loved tenaciously by her family; she is Meme to her doting grandchildren and she is grandmother to all the children placed in loving homes by Miriam’s Promise.
It is little known that for years she was the secretary/treasurer of the Tennessee Feed and Seed Dealer Association. She is known by the Nashville legal profession having worked for a long time as a legal secretary for a prominent Nashville law firm.
Mary Cooper firmly believes that justice, mercy, kindness, fairness, and in particular, love, is tantamount to the fulfillment of all that Jesus Christ had and is teaching his followers. Mary is such a follower, an example for all of us to emulate.
The list of her servanthood accomplishments is long yet all filled with her love for others, wishing nothing but the best for every person she comes in contact with. As someone said which is applicable to Mary Cooper, “Once an individual renews her mind and changes her thinking about servanthood, she will realize that serving others represents a position of strength not weakness and will reap the fruit of her labors.”
Recently she said, “I sometimes feel that I must get out of some things I do, but then I remember how much I love doing what I do and want to keep on as long as I can … I love Glendale so much that I want to do everything I can to be sure that our ministry here continues … thank goodness I can still do the things I love to do and that are important to me.”
Mother Theresa of Calcutta stated, “spread love everywhere you go: First in your own home … let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness, kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness.”
Mary Cooper, a kind person, disciple of Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Frank W. Essex receives the 2009 Asbury Award
The 2009 Asbury Award, Honoring an individual for Fostering United Methodist Ministries in Higher Education, was given to Dr. Frank W. Essex.
Dr. Frank Essex receives an ovation from Annual Conference delegatesFrank W. Essex was born and raised in Arkansas County, Arkansas. He attended public school there, graduating from Stuttgart High School in 1946. He attended and graduated from Vanderbilt University and is also a graduate of the Indiana College of Mortuary Science. Frank was in the U.S. Air Force during the time of the Korean War, worked with his father in the funeral business in Stuttgart following the service, and owned and operated the funeral home for a decade following his father’s death in 1955.
He returned to Vanderbilt University in 1965 and received a PhD in Political Science to gear up for a second career as a Political Science Professor and taught 27 years at Middle Tennessee State University, retiring as Professor Emeritus of Political Science, in 1993. Frank has been a mentor to many serving in political office, attorneys and judges in Tennessee and beyond.
A lifelong Methodist, Frank has been a member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, TN for 42 years. He taught the Ty Cargile Men’s Class at St. Mark’s for a number of years. Frank has served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Wesley Foundation at MTSU, including chairing the board for several years. He still supports the Wesley Foundation at MTSU and is very active in the Wesley Foundation fund raising events and public events. He served a term on the Tennessee Conference Commission on Archives and History. Frank has also served on the Tennessee Conference Board of Higher Education. He has long been one of the Lay Members from St. Mark’s United Methodist Church to the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Frank’s wife, Betty, died in 2005. They have two sons and two daughters, five grandchildren and a six month old great-granddaughter, Lydia. Frank is the third child in a family of three sisters and two brother, all six of who are still living. He was baptized as an infant and later confirmed into full membership at the De Witt, Arkansas First United Methodist Church.
Home Run to Heaven
By Lucy Neeley Adams
The rules and procedures of many sports are Greek to me! But when I was young I got hooked on baseball. I had no brothers to go to ball games with my dad so I was the one who was invited to the ballpark with him and I felt very special.
In my old red scrap book with the pages tattered and torn, is a newspaper picture that I cherish. My childish handwriting records names of my favorite players, with an arrow pointing to each one. The Columbia Reds, a farm team for the Cincinnati Reds were a unique part of my earliest years in Columbia, S.C.
There is no doubt that the same was true for many people in the Chicago area at the turn of the last century. A baseball player named, Billy Sunday, became a very important part of their lives. The game that is as American as apple pie brought much pleasure and excitement to thousands of fans.
Billy Sunday, 1921Sunday, who had been brought up in poverty and eventually sent to an orphanage, walked away before he finished high school. He sought fulfillment in various jobs. But his love for baseball always pulled him to every neighborhood game he could find Baseball big league Scouts always looked in on those games and Billy Sunday's skills were worthy of a call to move up into a league.
He was asked to try out and sign a contract in 1862, at eighteen years of age, with the Chicago White Stockings. Within several years other teams like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia signed him on. It was said that he was only an average hitter but a ‘fast as lighting' runner and a dynamic outfielder.
However, the greatest change in Billy Sunday's life came one Sunday afternoon in Chicago. While downtown with some friends, he heard a message that was strange but intriguing. His ears and intellect took in the testimony of a street preacher who spoke of his salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. The young man, from the Pacific Garden Mission, told about his former life of depression, fear and anguish that was now filled with Gods' healing love.
The joy in the strangers face beckoned to Billy Sunday and he began to go to the Mission each night that his team did not play baseball. Eventually he was encouraged to join the evangelistic work of the YMCA. (Young Men’s Christian Association.). After eight years of baseball fame and fun, Billy Sunday was off on the greatest adventure of his life.
Once he had only home runs and great catches on his mind. But after he surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus Christ, his heart and thoughts were on heaven and the souls caught for Christ.
He preached with great enthusiasm. Strike outs, good catches, fouls and home runs were freely described as he preached against the sins of the day. From baseball and ball parks to preaching and pulpits, the life of Billy Sunday is an exciting study.
Within one of his sermons that is printed in a SELECTION OF AMERICAN SERMONS by Michael Warner we read: "You will notice that Jesus did not feed the multitude. He created the food and asked his disciples to distribute it. Jesus was the chef, not the waiter at this banquet. Jesus created salvation, the only food that will feed the spiritual hunger of this world. The task of distributing the food is in the hands of his human followers."
Bishop William Willimon writes: " Billy Sunday was the best-known preacher in America from 1908-1925....His evangelistic crusades were national news, and he was a friend of the great and powerful both in business and politics....But his great strength lay in the uniqueness of his preaching built on his experiences as a professional baseball player.”(Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching: Willimon and Lescher)
The words that best describe the awesome life of this great ballplayer turned preacher come straight from the words of Jesus. "Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it. (Matthew 10:38-39)
Billy Sunday's ministry schedule was always full to overflowing. But his wife, lovingly called "Ma Sunday", expertly organized those crusades. When Billy died in 1935 she continued to live in their home at Winona Lake, Indiana, until she died in 1957. That home is now a museum that houses the family memorabilia. (http://www.villageatwinona.com/)
M.A.Y.M. thanks TN Conference for Helping Hands Seed Grant
By Roger Brown*
Youth ministry is alive and well in McMinnville. Youth Leaders from all over the community and all different denominations are joining forces to impact the Kingdom of Christ in a big way. For more than six years now, McMinnville Area Youth Ministries (M.A.Y.M.) has been serving the community as the hands and feet of Christ. The members of M.A.Y.M are involved in the local school system by organizing Campus Life meetings in six different schools. During the 2008 – 2009 school year, M.A.Y.M had the opportunity to present a life skills assembly called Primetime in Warren County Middle School. During these assemblies student’s learned lessons like discipline and perseverance. M.A.Y.M is also responsible for bringing community outreach events to McMinnville such as Real Encounter and Mike Hagen’s Strength Team. Hundreds of people made first time commitments or decisions to rededicate their lives to Christ during these creative events.
A recent addition to the activities of M.A.Y.M includes a college ministry fair held at Warren County High School. There were about six different campus ministries represented from area colleges, including The Wesley Foundation from Tennessee Tech in Cookeville. Worship was led by a MTSU student group from Belle Aire during this event. We hope to make the college ministry fair an annual event.
The local churches and ministries that are members of M.A.Y.M include McMinnville First Baptist, Northside Baptist, Pioneer Community Church, Cornerstone Baptist, Gath Baptist, Morrison First Baptist, Christ’s Family Church, McMinnville First United Methodist, and MMerge Ministries. M.A.Y.M strives to represent both a blended and unified body of believers while holding to the common foundational teachings of God’s Word such as salvation by grace in Christ alone through faith. We prayerfully believe in God for continued growth through partnership with other churches and ministries who share our precious faith.
For the last six years M.A.Y.M has organized an annual event called Mc.P.O.W. (McMinnville People Out Witnessing), we just love abbreviations! The theme for this year’s Mc.P.O.W. event was Broadcast 2009.. This event was a week-long community discipleship and outreach project during June 8th through June 12th. Youth from all over the community broadcasted the message of the gospel. The youth were impacted by sincere worship, inspirational messages, and time for fellowship. During Mc.P.O.W. the youth did yard work in the community, recruited blood donors and helped with registration at a blood drive, shared the gospel with children in back yard Bible school, washed cars for free, went door to door offering prayer for people, and collected 500 pounds of food for a food drive. M.A.Y.M would like to sincerely thank the Tennessee Conference Connectional Ministries who supported Mc.P.O.W. with a Helping Hands Seed Grant. Their generosity helped to meet a great financial need. May God’s blessings continue as we remain faithful to His purposes.
*Roger Brown is Youth Director/M.A.Y.M. Member, McMinnville First United Methodist Church
Wayfaring STRANGER
Is the Night Over?
By Marty Bell
From Hills & Hamlets, a newspaper celebrating the art and culture of rural life. This article appeared in the July 2009 issue, page 20, copyright 2009.. Reprinted here with permission. Published monthly by Hills & Hamlets, 4208 Old Hillsboro Road, Suite Eight, Franklin, TN 37064.
An ancient Rabbi once asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and the day was on its way back.
“Could it be,” asked one student, “when you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it’s a sheep or a dog?”
“No,” answered the Rabbi.
“Could it be,” asked another, “when you look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it’s a fig tree or a peach tree?”
“No,” said the Rabbi.
“Well, then what is it?” his pupils demanded.
“It is when you look on the face of any many and can see . . . your brother. Because if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, it is still night.”
Because Independence Day falls on July , this month gives many of us an opportunity to pause and to consider what it means to be an American. No two of us has the exact same perspective on this subject. For me the Rabbi’s story gets pretty close to starting my truth. If I can’t see a brother or a sister in another human being, I’m living in the darkness of night. One of the great paradoxes of our experience as Americans is our sense of unity in the midst of diversity. We often have difficulty maintaining the tension between what makes us the same and what makes us different. Nevertheless, I believe that in that tension we find the meaning of our nation’s identity.
At the root of all the evil that’s been done in our world is the inability to see a brother or sister in another human being. Just as siblings can be very different from one another, but share in a common family heritage and experience, we as Americans can be very different from one another, but share in a common bond. Is the night over yet?
Marty Bell, Ph.D., is a professor, preacher, and singer/songwriter. He teaches at Belmont University and ministers to three Methodist churches in rural Williamson Country: Green’s Chapel, Garrison and Greenbrier. He can be reached at bellmg@comcast.net
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 5:16 AM
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